“[John] has produced a thoughtful, nuanced first novel, employing a style that is as unadorned as it is unflinching . . . His restraint in handling difficult material is just one of his many gifts . . . Born on a Tuesday brings home the reality of what is happening in northern Nigeria with a power the news reports of Boko Haram’s atrocities can’t adequately project. Elnathan John is a writer to watch.”—Fiammetta Rocco, The New York Times Book Review

“A nuanced first novel illuminates the rise of radical Islam in northern Nigeria.”— The New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice​

“[…] Elnathan John has penned a coming of age novel worthy of Twain. At times tragic, at times humorous, Born on a Tuesday is the story of those who find the courage to transcend violence even when born to its confines.”— Elliot Ackerman, author of Green on Blue

“This powerful and gut-wrenching book is an unflinching look at the brutality wrought on the life of innocents by those vying for even small amounts of power.”—Anmiryam Budner, Main Point Books, Bryn Mawr, PA

“Mesmerizing . . . [Dantala’s] journey from a lost boy to a position of remarkable authority in his mosque in Sokoto, Nigeria is powerfully moving and rich in period-specific detail . . . This compelling debut novel, set during the time of Boko Haram uprising, is at once frightening and horrific yet also authentic and compassionate. Masterful.”– Jenny Lyons, The Vermont Bookshop

ELNATHAN JOHN

Dantala lives in Bayan Layi and studies in a Sufi school, far away from home. By chance he starts to follow gang leader Banda, a nominal Muslim. Dantala is thrust into a world with fluid rules and casual violence. In the bloody aftermath of the elections he runs away and ends up living in a mosque. With a simple and practical approach to life, as he teaches himself English, Dantala slowly embraces the Salafism preached by his new benefactor, Sheikh Jamal.

He falls in love with Sheikh’s beguiling daughter, Aisha, and tries to woo her without breaking the rules. All the while, Sheikh struggles to deal with growing jihadist extremism within his own ranks.

Narrated in Dantala’s raw yet inquisitive voice, this debut novel explores brotherhood, religious fundamentalism, and loss against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent periods in contemporary Northern Nigeria.​